Contributors

Rach

I'm daughter to Lissie, sister to Jess, wife to Brien, mom to Hannah, Lily and Eleanor. I am a stay at home mom to my girls, and my free time is dedicated to gardening (I confess I'm still a novice and look to Lissie and Jess for advice), baking and cooking, and card making. I'm doing my part to make the earth a bit greener, trying hard to avoid processed foods and HFCS, and find the "slow food" movement intriguing and inspiring. I love visits to my local farmers' market, fresh produce, reading, getting out in nature, and spending time with my family.

Jess

Catholic, homeschooler, lover of books and great wine and an amateur gardening addict.

Lissie

I'm Melissa aka "Lissie", mother of Rachael and Jessica, and grandmother to a passel of the sweetest children on the planet. I'm a semi-retired public educator and professor who works from home for a small publisher. I am a lover of all things beautiful ... flowers, the mountains, nature scenes, the innocent faces of children, and my rock and fossil collection, to name a few. I enjoy shopping at the farmers' market for fresh foods and then experimenting with new recipes. Good food and good wine delight me. I love to travel so my suitcase is always packed. Like my daughters, I take pleasure in simple things ... clothes drying on the line, tomatoes so fresh they are still hot from the sun, good books, and interesting movies. I'd like to know everything before I die.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 300°F.
Lightly butter the bottom of a 9x2-inch round cake pan and line it with
a round of parchment. Lightly butter the parchment and the sides of the
pan and dust with cocoa powder. Tap out any excess.

Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave or in a medium metal
bowl set in a skillet of barely simmering water, stirring with a rubber
spatula until smooth. Remove the bowl from the water bath and set aside
to cool slightly. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk
attachment, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, and 2 Tbs. water.
Beat on mediumhigh speed until the mixture is very foamy, pale in color,
and doubled in volume, 2 min. Reduce the mixer speed to low and
gradually pour in the chocolate mixture. Increase the speed to medium
high and continue beating until well blended, about 30 seconds. Add the
cocoa powder and mix on medium low just until blended, about 30 seconds.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a pick inserted
in the center comes out looking wet with small gooey clumps, 40 to 45
min. Don’t overcook. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 30 min. If
necessary, gently push the edges down with your fingertips until the
layer is even. Run a small knife around the edge of the pan to loosen
the cake. Cover the cake pan with a wire rack and invert. Remove the pan
and parchment and let the cake cool completely. The cake may look
cinched in around its sides, which is fine. Transfer to a cake plate.
Cover and refrigerate the cake until it’s very cold, at least 6 hours or
overnight.

(Also, a helpful tip: To slice this cake (or any dense, sticky cake), heat the knife first,
either by dipping it in a tall container of very hot water or by holding
it under hot running water for a few seconds. Then wipe it dry before
cutting the cake. The knife will cool quickly, and the cake will start
sticking, so expect to rinse and repeat several times. A crème brûlée
torch, if you have one, is also handy for heating up a knife.)

I modified this blackberry cassis recipe to make the raspberry cassis. I'd never made one before, and I have to say, this sauce hit the perfect note of sweet and tangy and was an unbelievable complement to the richness of the cake.

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the raspberries, frozen and fresh, until they begin to release their juices.
2. Add in the creme de cassis, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice and bring to a simmer.
3. When the liquid begins to simmer, spoon about 1/4 cup of the liquid
into a small bowl. Add the cornstarch to the liquid in the bowl and
whisk thoroughly until the cornstarch is dissolved. Return the
cornstarch mixture to the berries cooking in the saucepan.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil and allow to boil for about a minute.
5. Reduce heat to a simmer until the liquid begins to be syrupy. Remove
from heat--serve warm immediately or reheat in microwave before serving
(if you are freezing the sauce for later use).

This cake wasn't that hard, nor did it take that long to put together. I made the raspberry sauce while the cake was baking and simply reheated it when it was time for birthday cake. If you're looking for an easy, yet undeniably decadent dessert, this is it. :o)